Quarter Life Crisis

I quit my job two weeks ago. Tomorrow is my last day. I am moving back home and then joining the Air Force (or maybe the Army, I haven’t decided yet). I will probably be playing a lot less once I get home (or maybe a lot more if I am particularly bored) and then not at all while I do basic training and then officer candidate school. My tanking career is definately on hold for a while and may be over for good. I was unceremoniously dumped down to Legacy status in my guild which basically means that I got put into the raiding retirement home.

I was starting to get pretty bored with raiding anyway so its not a bad thing. I never really raided for the loot (although it is pretty nice), I did it to see new content and be challenged. But we have been farming T6 content since Decemeber and it has become pretty monotonous. I can’t imagine what it might be like for the really elite guilds who have been doing the exact same content since last summer.

I found lately that I really hate everything in WoW except arena and raiding. Doing daily quests is physically painful for me. I go crazy flying around looking for mining nodes. I am terribly overgeared to do heroics or regular 5 mans and I am accustomed to a high level of play from those around me so pugs make blood shoot out of my eyeballs. Alliance in my battlegroup just turns off their brain when they enter a battleground and sometimes it seems like they are actively working against their team. I have run Karazhan approximately 122394512341 times. I never liked ZA. I kinda like leveling characters so I might get a few of my mid level characters up to 70 over the next few weeks.

I just noticed that there is no as to who is making which posts. Maybe it is because I am logged in as an admin or something. Regardless, this is Rochelle :)

What Littletank fails to mention is that the Air Force grips about how good the Coast Guard is… Small units, great working enviroment and the same bennifits as any other service but you get beach front view everyday and a nice tan to boot… all without visiting the desert.

all i can say is good luck man. I personally dont like to army, or the air force, or any military way of life. But im in brazil, so, things are quite different around here. But for those options you have, the coast guard is the best in my opinion. If you retire for good, thanx for the info you brought to this blog. it helped a lot.

Best of luck to you! THis is my first visit and I read this news, so on a selfish level I hope you leave it up as a reference site.

As to the AF, my father was O.G.,… meaning he joined the Army in 1941 when it was still part of the Army, before they called themselves the Air Force, and God rest his soul, he would tell you same as you have been hearing; that AF is the only way to go. If you’re a smart person, you owe it to your country to be utilized to the maximum extent anyway. Not to say I have less respect for any other Armed Service.

I was born on the fourth of July, and though I adamantly disagree w/ this administration’s execution of its foreign policy (Afghanistan we all agreed on, that’s all I will say) I always will and always do have the utmost respect for many of my personal friends who are in the Armed Services. I know I personally would never do it, but I thank God each day that there are those who have that extra level of commitment to “the rest of us,” who sometimes take our freedom for granted.

People who began flying flags, or putting on bumper stickers after 9/11 grind me… you should ALWAYS be patriotic, every damn day, not just to supericially show support “to kick ass.” THat’s bullshit, and those people who join the Services know and realize what I am speaking of. They appreciate the extra support, but its for times like during the 90’s when they say… “well what about supporting us now?” That’s why I again, always have and show support for those of you who have the committment to serve your country, not just when its convenient or popular, but every day, cuz military action is never convenient or popular, nor should it be.

I’ve only been reading the blog for a few weeks, but I found it at just the right time, after beginning to be able to do Kara runs… The feel and approach to tanking seemed just right; I’m also someone who had never done a MMORPG before WoW, and so it was great to “follow in the footsteps” as it were of someone else who had a similar learning curve to go through.

I can certainly see where tanking would get tiresome after you’ve seen and mastered all the content. I have yet to enter SSC, so this site will still be greatly useful. Thanks for your time on it, I’ve appreciated it a lot. Good luck out there!

I’ve been playing WOW for about 4 months now and I’m just getting to where I know anything about the game other than my name, however I do know a bit about the military. I have 10 years service time 8 with the Air Force(4 active, 1 active reserve,3 inactive reserve)and 2 with the Army(National Guard but Active duty most of the 2 years). I loved my time in the active duty AF. It was great but….the Air Force is in a state of change right now. It is dramatically downsizing and alot of soldiers are losing their jobs due to this new thing called “force shaping”. The Air Force has the best of everything(with only the Navy coming close)food, uniforms, facilities, bases. The Army gets the second hand stuff, unless your spec ops. I’ve enjoyed my time in both branches for different reasons, but at this point I’d say your best bet stability wise is the Army. Not only are they one of the oldest branches, you can get rank quick too(with a little intelligence and winning personality)They are hurting for people right now, and they need officers, plus they have lots of bonuses($$$). The Air Force is slow to make rank, and they are VERY selective, plus who knows when your job could be out sourced? Ask anyone in the Air Force if they know what an A-76 study is or the blue to green program. The Army has no clue what this stuff is, they are secure in their jobs. I salute you for wanting to serve your country, it is a noble thing and I think everyone should serve at least one term. Be well educated about which branch you choose. The recruiters all lie so, ask someone who is in. E-4’s are the backbone of the military..they do the work and reap none of the benefits, ask them. If you want to become an officer, do a tour as an enlisted man first….gives you some perspective when you are the one taking care of them. Enough ranting, the choice is yours, and we look forward to you joining our ranks. Choose wisely.

I know that this is off topic, but I believe I can help with some advice about the Army. I just got out of my first 4 year enlistment in the Army as a 25F-Network Switch Operator. I believe that which branch of service you decide to go with has to do with what your goals are with the military. I went in only looking for the college money and trying to learn some self discipline. If you are planning on going career I would suggest going Army because, as TheSinEater said, the Air Force is changing and won’t be as stable. But if you are going in just for the experience, I would say choose a different branch. The Army is not easy. Don’t let your recruiter lie to you and tell you that you will have loads of free time. During my tour of duty I spent the majority of my time either in the field (training in a tent to do my job, no showers for days, eating packaged meals, getting 4 hours of sleep b/c of the work load) or deployed in Iraq. I went in hoping to have time to sign up for college, but I wasn’t able to do it b/c of all the time required for training and my responsibilities. If you are going to be an officer I think it will be different for you though. I was an E-4 enlisted for the majority of my time in the military. TheSinEater’s suggestion that you spend some time as an enlisted person before going to OCS is a good suggestion. It will give you some perspective on what life is like without all the privileges that rank affords. It would also make you a better leader and the soldiers under your command will have more respect for you. Well if you have any questions from an E-4 about my time in the Army, feel free to ask.
SPC Kovacs